Non-invasive detection of genome-wide somatic copy number alterations by liquid biopsies

Liquid biopsies, i.e. the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), are evolving into promising clinical tools. Indeed, a plethora of liquid biopsy technologies to deduce non-invasively characteristics of the tumor genome from the peripheral blood have been developed over the last few years. For example, liquid biopsies have been used to assess the tumor burden, to monitor the evolution of tumor genomes, to unravel mechanisms of resistance, to establish the tumor heterogeneity, and for the identification of prognostic and predictive markers.

Source: Molecular Oncology - December 16, 2015 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Ellen Heitzer, Peter Ulz, Jochen B. Geigl, Michael R. Speicher Tags: Review Source Type: research